Edward Zivica has been displaying his large American flag in a common area of his apartment complex on special holidays for a year. He said he didn’t think it was a problem because the management company had never asked him to take it down before.

“They said nothing about it and so I figured, well, maybe they understand now that I’m only putting it up on special days,” Zivica told KVAL News.

But St. Vincent de Paul, the company that manages the apartment complex, says there are rules that govern decorative displays and Zivica knows what those rules are.

CEO Terry McDonald said, “The notice was for hanging something outside the building without permission. Landlord tenant law is very specific. If you’re going to live in a situation where there’s lots of other tenants, you need to follow the rules that are set up.”

McDonald also said the issue has come up in the past and, to satisfy tenant requests, the company put up a lit flagpole outside the building. But the tenants have been frustrated with the apartment’s pole because it does not have a pulley system. The flag stayed up permanently.

Since there was no way to put the flag at half staff, Zivica went back to hanging his own flag on the building for special occasions. “I’m not doing something so terrible,” Zivica said.

According to the notice of termination of his lease that he received, Zivica can either agree to follow the rules or has until midnight on November 29 to move out.